like lovers do
by miserella
Summary: When he agreed to help Peeta and his art friends with a project, he didn't think he was signing up for this. Modern AU based on that 'FIRST KISS' video.


**Note: **This is based on that 'FIRST KISS' video that was all over tumblr and then it wasn't. It kind of got away from me... I just wanted to write something sorta fun. Enjoy!

* * *

When he agreed to help Peeta and his art friends with a project, he didn't think he was signing up for _this_. He thought his role in the project would involve building frames or stretching canvases or moving paint cans. At no point did he imagine that they wanted him as a subject in one of their films. If he had, he never would have agreed. When he finds out that, actually, that's exactly the plan—from Peeta, in a voicemail, just days before the date of the project—he calls him back and tells the guy that he can forget about it, because he's not an actor and never will be.

"Oh, it's not like that," Peeta says. "You just have to kiss her. There's no script, I swear. You'll be in and out of there."

Gale doesn't believe he's heard him right. His teeth grind as he asks, "What are you talking about, Mellark?"

"Ten strangers… Kissing on camera... You didn't know...?"

Of course he didn't know, because Peeta didn't tell him. Besides, Gale thinks that's the dumbest thing he's ever heard and he tells him so. Then he tells him that he can go fuck himself because no way in hell is he about to kiss someone he doesn't even know for the sake of art.

Peeta apologizes and says it's fine, he'll find someone else. Gale is glad to hear that he'll get part of his Saturday morning back, but it's not long after that he gets a text from Katniss that says, _'You're gonna help Peeta, asshole, or I'll tell your mother about the time you took a piss in Mrs. Findlay's prized rose garden_.' And then: _'As if kissing girls is a fucking hardship for you. Give me a break._'

He ends up at a studio inside the art college where Peeta takes classes, chewing a piece of minty gum and cursing his friends.

"Thanks, Gale," Peeta says—and so _genuinely_, this guy—as the shoot is starting in the next room over. The blond juggles some lighting equipment and glances over a page on a clipboard he's flipping through. "I tried to get you out of here faster, so you're next up. They'll call your name, you go in, wait for action, and kiss the girl." Peeta grins sheepishly. "Katniss says you've had some practice in the area, so it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Gale doesn't say anything to that; he just grunts in acknowledgment and looks beyond Peeta at the door he'll soon be going through to… make out with somebody he's never even seen before as a camera's rolling.

"Oh, and try to look a little happy about it—it's supposed to be light and charming, not angsty and uncomfortable." Someone calls Peeta's name from elsewhere and the guy squeezes in one last friendly smile before darting off where he's needed.

In the next few moments, Gale is swarmed by a couple young women armed with powder brushes and palettes and God knows what else in order to prettify him. One of the girls makes sweeping motions across his face with some powder that makes him want to sneeze while another starts primping his slight beard, of all things. She's inspecting one side of his jaw when he glares down at her from his height. Noticing his look, she pulls back and blushes. When the other one finishes up with her ridiculous job, the two of them make their way to their next victim and Gale hears the beard-comber whisper, "He's _hot_." He smirks to himself and stands a little taller until he hears the other woman reply, "No, he's too grumpy."

Before he can grumble over that, a skinny guy with a pen behind his ear appears at the door and calls out for him. Gale makes his way over, albeit slowly, because the guy then shuts the door behind them before he's even properly inside.

"Go over there," he directs, pointing to where a camera is pointed at a grey backdrop that has been rolled out. Everyone in the room is busy doing something—adjusting one setting or another, he presumes—so he doesn't find it difficult to slip on by and step up to the backdrop.

A guy with a ponytail comes up to him next and tries to tell him what to do, but all he actually says is: "Yeah, so just kiss her, man." That's really all there is to it, apparently.

Someone else takes his gum from him and then they call the girl in. The skinny kid from before waves his hand between the two of them and says, "Introduce yourselves," as he rushes off elsewhere like he has more important things to do. Gale wants to say, 'Hey, schmuck—this is an art college project. _Art college_.' But he doesn't. That could have something to do with the fact that he hadn't expected the _random stranger_ he would be kissing today to be this goddamn pretty.

The girl smiles shyly at him. A blush blossoms on the rounds of her cheeks and it's stupidly sweet. Everything about her looks sweet, from the white cotton of her halter sundress, to the bow that's tying her long blonde hair up in what Posy would say is 'totally vintage,' to the kindness in her big blue eyes. Gale nods in response to her smile and scratches at his beard. He wonders what she thinks of him. He could be her opposite with his olive tone, dark mess of hair, and ratty black t-shirt. Where she's soft lines, he's rough edges. At least, that's what he thinks until someone calls her name, asking if she's ready or something, and she turns around, revealing her exposed back and half of a tattoo peeking out by her ribs. He thinks it's a bird. He doesn't get a good look; before long, she turns back around, swishing her pretty ponytail and the skirt of her dress.

Gale looks away quickly, but he can tell she's squinting at him—probably out of confusion. Admittedly, he's not being very friendly. But it kind of irritates him that he's actually attracted to her. With her blonde hair and blue eyes, she looks a bit like the girls he'd always been annoyed by growing up—rich, superficial, ditzy. In college they all had their sorority letters practically stamped across their foreheads. He couldn't stand the type, and besides, he'd always been into brunettes, anyway.

Not that it matters, because this is all basically staged and after they're done with this student film, he's never going to see her again.

"I'm Madge," she introduces, laughing lightly and shaking her head just so. It's pretty clear that she can't quite believe she's in this situation, to which he can relate. He wonders how she got involved. Did a friend rope her into it, too? Did she volunteer?

"Gale," he tells her, running a hand through his hair. His eyes glance down her body and he adds, quite casually, "Pretty dress." Peeta had said that he'd be in and out, and since he'll be kissing her in just a few moments, he doesn't think it's worth commenting on how her daddy probably bought it for her, even though there's some part of him that wants to. The more shocking part doesn't.

Unfortunately she seems to pick up on his thoughts. Her eyebrows rise slightly and she looks down at her clothing. "I guess. But that's not why we're here, is it?" One eyebrow quirks higher than the other and he's a little impressed.

Smirking, he has to agree. "No. It's not."

"All right, kiddos," someone who looks to be younger than Gale starts saying, "We're gonna get rolling here in thirty seconds…"

Madge giggles nervously and fuck, it's cute enough to make him kind of _want_ to kiss her now. She bites down on her lip and looks at him curiously. "Do you do this often?"

"Kiss on camera? Never."

She rolls her eyes a little—playfully—and asks again. "And what about without the camera?"

Gale shrugs one of his shoulders in a noncommittal fashion. "I don't know. Maybe you'll be able to tell."

Eyeing him skeptically, she nods though she doesn't seem to buy it at all. "Uh huh. We'll see."

"And we're rolling in three… two…"

The rest of the room goes silent. A red light turns on and both Gale and Madge look at the people all standing behind the camera. They look pointedly at them, which makes Madge start to laugh. Gale can't quite believe the absurdity of it all. It's for that reason that he can't help the smile on his face. That reason alone.

After a moment, Gale looks back at the blonde in front of him and waits until she turns his eyes on him from the floor. He knows she's agreed to this and everything, but it's different now that the camera's on and the pressure is there. He wants to make sure she's still comfortable with it; as meaningless as this all is, he's never kissed somebody that didn't want to be kissed. He doesn't plan on forcing that on anyone now.

When Madge's eyes meet his, she's stopped laughing. There's still a hint of a smile on her face, like she's been caught doing something she shouldn't. In the few steps she takes towards him, closing the gap between their different bodies, he doesn't pick up on any hesitation. His eyes remain trained on her as she looks back down to the ground and keeps no more than two inches between them. She's _right there_, a breath away from him, hovering in a pause. But it's not out of discomfort; in fact, she seems to feel _quite_ comfortable there, swaying slightly in her spot. She's taking it all in. It seems strange, but it forces him to do the same. This close, he can smell her perfume—something light and floral. He takes note of the freckles on her nose and the way her eyelashes look against her cheeks when she blinks. Their arms hang down by their sides and his fingers brush against her left arm, right above her wrist. He's never had so much build-up before a kiss. The air is fucking palpable and it makes the beating of his heart sound so much louder. If she's trying to kill him from the anticipation, it might just be working.

So when she wraps her hands around his and tugs slightly, he's grateful. She's grinning as she leans into him, gently touching the left side of her forehead into the side of his jaw away from the camera. It's a gesture that says, 'Holy shit, we're doing this,' like she can't believe it. He can't really either, but he's getting over it.

He turns toward the people at the camera as she smiles into his neck and asks, "Are we… good to go whenever?" They all smirk at him a little bit but he's not even paying attention. The purpose of asking was to cut the tension a little bit. It doesn't totally work. Madge pulls away and drops her hands, only for her arms to come up and rest on his shoulders as her hands lock behind his neck. Her body is pressed against his and it's only natural for his hands to drift up her sides and take gentle hold of her face. It's the best position for him to finally lean in and kiss her after they share another look.

Once his lips touch hers it's like taking a sip of water after going days without it. And he's _parched_. The tentative, tame first kiss is comforting and pleasant, but it's just a taste—a sip. One sip won't do. That's pretty messed up considering he's known her for exactly two minutes, but it doesn't stop him from moving his mouth against hers. She seems to be just as responsive with the way her arms clamp around his neck and try to get him closer. He can't refuse. His hands come down and he wraps his arms around her small waist, lifting her up from the floor just slightly. He's got at least six inches on her; it's better on his back, probably. The way she squeaks against his lips is just a plus.

She tastes like strawberries, he notes next. Her kisses, like the rest of her, are just as sweet as the fruit, but she's surprising him by being a lot more sensual than he expected. Honestly, the whole thing is a bit of a mindfuck. But he can't say he doesn't like it. By the way she pushes her fingers through the hair at the back of his head and the way he drops his hands lower and lower (for leverage, of course), it might be a little too obvious that they're both enjoying this.

But his lungs are burning and when he pulls away for relief, he drops her back to her feet. Her arms slowly fall away from being latched around his neck and his hands move to her hips as he catches his breath and he takes in the sight of her, all dazed and undone. She's even more beautiful like this. Her cheeks have taken on that rosy hue again and she shies away, her eyes focused on their feet. Gale wants to tug on the ribbon in her hair until it falls, contributing to the disheveled look she's got going for her, and he considers kissing her again, because that's something he wants to do, too. Instead of doing either, he finds himself watching her—how she ducks away and stifles her own embarrassed laughter. As slowly as they came together they fall apart. He has to bite down on his cheek to stop himself from smiling too hard at the way she anxiously backs away.

Angling her body toward the camera, she suddenly laughs and says, "He's definitely had some practice."

Gale just smirks, palming the back of his neck in that uncomfortable sort of way, only he's not exactly uncomfortable (and certainly not because of her comment. It's actually pretty true). It's just—Okay, now what?

Madge faces him again and lifts a hand to her cheek, blinking at him from behind her fingers. In the next moment she drops the hand into a position for him to shake. When he takes it, she smiles bashfully. "Nice meeting you," she says.

He nods until both of them look over at the camera, wondering what to do next. The people there look blankly back at them and Gale shrugs. "You need us to do it again?" Madge starts laughing again and the guy in charge shakes his head before yelling, "Cut!"

After that, the red light goes off and the people start milling about again, all on some schedule. Madge gives him a little smile and a tiny shrug before she's dragged away. They must be herding the next couple in; it's not long before he's pulled back where he came from, too.

"How was it, Gale?" Peeta asks him when the guy catches him on his way out.

His lips press together. "That's it?"

Peeta shrugs—as casually as he can as he struggles to hang on to the random assortment of objects piled up in his arms. "Yup. Unless…" He laughs and all too knowingly. "Do you want her _number_, Gale?"

The look he gives Peeta is scalding. "I'm going."

As he's walking away, Peeta continues through his chuckles. "Because I can try to get it for you!" Gale doesn't stop, but that doesn't matter much. He knows he hasn't heard the end of this yet.

"Peeta told me _all_ about the steamy kiss you shared with your scene partner the other day." Katniss' eyebrows twitch upwards and the smile on her face, barely there, is devious.

"Don't start, Catnip," he says right away. Pointing a finger at her, he tamps down the memory. "You forced me into it."

"_Right_," Katniss scoffs. "I told you to kiss the girl and make Peeta happy, not _make out_ with her. I mean, Peeta's elated over the whole thing, so—thank you." She's genuine about that, at least, which he can accept. He did do it to help Katniss and in turn help Peeta with his schoolwork.

"Do you realize how fucking crazy that sounds?"

Katniss furrows her brows together and nods after a moment. "Yeah. That's weird. Doesn't let you off the hook, though."

Gale groans and grabs a case a beer from one of the fridges in the supermarket. "So what it was one hell of a kiss? It was part of a movie. I was acting."

Katniss opens a door beside him and picks out Peeta's favourite red, causing Gale to shake his head. She gives him a hard look, daring him to say anything, and puts the bottle into her basket as they continue on. "Whatever you say, Hawthorne. Just know that Peeta can probably hook it up if you want—_Ugh_, gross—Sorry, that was all him."

"Let's forget about it," he declares, pointing to a bag of dinner rolls for Katniss to add to the basket on her arm. His mother has planned for dinner at her house, a monthly tradition, and the rolls were on the list she gave him to pick up before coming. Again, Katniss gives him a look. It says, 'Oh, _come on_,' and he knows it's because Peeta is this wonderful, incredible baker and she could have gotten him to make buns for their dinner that would have been much better. He shrugs at that, though his mouth starts to water at the thought of Peeta's baking. Yeah, he's tried it, and yeah, it's good. But he wasn't about to ask for a favour, even though Peeta technically owes him one…

"Sure," she agrees. And so it's forgotten.

Except that the video goes up on YouTube just two weeks later and by the time he's back at his mom's house for the next monthly dinner, it's gone viral. When he shows up at the house bearing hamburger buns (made by Peeta this time) and popsicles, they're all crowded around the computer screen.

"Gale, why didn't you bring your girlfriend?" Posy asks excitedly. She gestures to the screen and he nearly turns right around and leaves. He does not want to deal with this.

"You don't need to be somebody's boyfriend to kiss them," Rory tells her. Looking at Gale, he grins devilishly. "Nice, bro. Art films, huh?"

"Shut up, Rory." He stuffs the popsicles into the freezer and puts the buns down before he tries to break up the huddle at the computer. "Turn it off."

"_No, Gale!_" Posy yelps, hanging on to the mouse so that he can't take it from her. "You're a star! We wanna see."

He hates Peeta and he hates Katniss. "I'm not a—Posy, you're a little young for this. Ma?"

Hazelle is watching the video just as intently as the rest of him and oh, God, he really hates everything. Posy, on the other hand, is way too damn happy about it. "Please, Gale. I've already kissed a boy. It's just _kissing_."

"You have?" Gale grunts, feeling protective. "Who?"

"Grady MacDermott," Vick pipes up. He slides into Rory's place after his older brother turns away from the screen, not quite as interested as the rest in Gale's… adventures.

"_Thom's brother?_" Gale's gonna have to talk to his buddy Thom about this. Someone's gotta tell Grady what's what.

"Oh, hush now, Gale," his mother finally says. She brushes through Posy's black hair as the younger girl sits on her lap and the video comes to an end. "This video implies you were all strangers, and if that's true, well, maybe you've been kissing someone you shouldn't have, too."

Gale feels bad about that; he attempts to explain himself. "Ma, it was all an act. I did it for Peeta," he mumbles lowly. He pours himself a glass of lemonade and then one for Vick as well when his brother sticks another glass next to his.

"Is there _something else_ you're not telling us, Gale?" she responds, sliding Posy off her lap and lifting a single eyebrow at him. He chokes on his lemonade.

"Not what I meant," he coughs. "It was his art project and he asked me to stand in for someone. That's all. I'm sorry if it's uncomfortable for you, but it's really nothing."

His mom shrugs and takes a look at the buns from Peeta. She seems pleased with them—how could she not be?—so he makes a mental reminder to thank Katniss' boyfriend. "As long as you're comfortable with it, I'm comfortable with it… And it didn't look like you were _uncomfortable_."

He never should have agreed to it. It's made worse when Posy sends him some moving images of his kiss with Madge that she found somewhere on the web. "You're on Tumblr, Gale!" Why don't kids play outside anymore? He really just wants to forget about the whole ordeal, considering it really wasn't supposed to be an issue at all.

But then, it really is. He goes to some fundraiser with Katniss and Peeta at the guy's school, and there she is again.

Her hair's up in a messy, fluffy bun and she's wearing another white dress, though this one is closer to cream and it's lacy. Unfortunately, he can't help but notice how pretty she looks once again. But the idea of having to face her when he was sure he'd never have to see her again is frustrating, even though he's been telling himself for months now that none of it was ever a big deal.

After he's spotted her he glares at Peeta and gestures towards her. "Did you know she'd be here?"

"Of course not," Peeta defends himself, "But she's friends with Annie, so I can't say it's _surprising_ that she's here. You should say hi."

Gale grumbles at that idea and Peeta looks confused. Katniss sighs. "Really, Gale? This doesn't have to be a thing. Talk to her or ignore her, it's your call. Peeta and I are going to go look at the refreshments." His best friend drags her boyfriend off to the table with finger sandwiches and neatly squared cheese, leaving him in the middle of the room without a plan of action. Jerks. He's not _trying _to make it into a… 'thing.' He just wasn't prepared for this. They have to understand that this is one odd situation for him to be in at all.

The next thing he knows, Madge turns around and spots him. Her smile is wide and she says something to the brunette at her side. Gale scratches at his ear. Is it up to him to make the first move? Normally, he wouldn't even question it but he doesn't quite count this as normal.

Madge might. She leaves her friend's side and approaches him without much hesitation. "Hey, stranger," her soft voice calls.

"You." Realizing he sounds like an idiot, he clears his throat and adds, "You must like white dresses." It doesn't make him sound any better.

Her eyes narrow in an amused sort of way, strangely. "You pay attention."

"And _you_ don't have a drink in your hand." Gale seeks to remedy that.

Madge gives him a funny sort of look. What she says next sounds cautionary. "They're only serving wine tonight."

Of course. "Not good enough for you?" Gale doesn't drink a whole lot of wine himself—he's a beer drinker—but he's already looking for the table. He's going to need something to get him through the pretentious art fundraiser.

"Oh, it's fine by me," she responds with an edge. "In fact, I've already had one. You need to catch up."

She makes it sound like a challenge, so he takes it as one. And, well, catch up he does.

It's nearing the end of the night when Peeta lets Katniss sweet-talk him into leaving. While he says goodbye to his friends from school, she goes looking for Gale. Earlier they'd seen him finishing off a glass of wine with Madge, but had left him to it. Before the event they had to drag Gale along with Katniss' urging that his presence would contribute to the success of Peeta's school and therefore Peeta's career. But Peeta knows that Katniss' best friend doesn't care much for him—or at least, pretends not to (which he is thinking is becoming the case)—so that couldn't have been the sole reason he came.

When Peeta spotted Madge when they first walked in, it all made a little more sense.

Once Katniss gives up looking inside and they decide to try the parking lot, Gale's sparseness for most of the fundraiser starts to make a lot of sense, too.

"Seriously, Gale?!" Katniss cries. It's only then that her friend tears himself away from the little blonde that had starred opposite him in Peeta's film. Madge's face blooms red from where she's pressed against Katniss' car door and he can't tell if that's by the wine's doing or by Gale's.

"Going for round two?" Peeta can't help himself. Katniss gives him a look of shock and he'd expect a grumpy one from Gale if the guy weren't so distracted. He's clearly still interested in Madge's lips. Madge, for her part, doesn't seem _too_ embarrassed by the two of them finding her and Gale giving it another shot, because she giggles and presses her hands to her cheeks.

"Hi," she says, "I'm Madge."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Katniss nods, still shaking her head at Gale. But she speaks amicably to Madge who would probably feel terrible if she had any other reception. "I'm Katniss, Gale's best friend—We've been looking for you, Gale! I mean, _seriously_."

"_Oh_," Madge gasps. Gale looks dumbly between Katniss and Madge. His thumb brushing beneath his bottom lip, he starts to come out of his stupor. "Annie's probably looking for me, too. I should…"

"You don't have to," Gale pouts. Peeta smirks at that until Gale looks his way and then he covers it with a genuine smile towards Madge, to whom he says, "Annie's inside. Thanks for watching Gale for us." He winks and the blush of her cheeks deepens.

"Guess we'll be seeing you around, Madge!" is his final call as she zips inside, probably happy to escape from the awkwardness of that situation. Gale does not get the option. Instead, he glares.

Katniss sighs and gestures for them to all get into her car as she clicks the button on her key to unlock the doors. Once they're all inside, she mumbles, "That's a bit presumptuous, Peeta."

"I don't know," he contests. Peeking behind him, he nods to Katniss. "On the drive here, he'd been sulking about getting the backseat. Now it just looks like he wishes Madge was there with him."

Katniss hesitates before agreeing. "He's never looked so dopey."

"Exactly."


End file.
